Mark Fenhalls QC, Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, to be interviewed on Sky News tonight at 7pm

Mark Fenhalls QC, Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, will be speaking on Sky News tonight (starting at 7pm) regarding the recent report from the Public Accounts Committee concerning the overstretched criminal justice system.

Mark has commented on the report as follows:-

“The Public Accounts Committee is right. The 26% cut in spending on the Criminal Justice System since 2010-11 has been brutal and counterproductive. Cases are less well investigated by the police and less well prepared by the CPS. Uncertainty and delay over when trials are going to be heard cause unnecessary distress for witnesses and defendants. Proper treatment of the victims of crime should always be an imperative, even when the public purse is stretched.

For years the criminal justice system has been held together by the professionalism and goodwill of judges, court staff and lawyers, but the supply of sticking plaster has run out.

Despite the acute and chronic stress in the system there are some signs of hope. One key change is the digital revolution that has begun in the criminal courts. But there is much more to be done to make a “one nation” justice system that is fit for the 21st Century and for all of us and not just the wealthy.”